


Hourglass

by Ace_of_Stars



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin falls to the dark side, Gen, Not a lot of them and I warn you but still, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Order 66, Suicidal Thoughts, This is posted out of order okay?, Time Travel, aaaaaaaa tagging is hard, non-linear chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:56:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27085948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_of_Stars/pseuds/Ace_of_Stars
Summary: Anakin Skywalker is sent back in time, perhaps to fix his mistakes. But is he too late?
Comments: 18
Kudos: 55





	1. This is how it feels to take a fall

**Author's Note:**

> Read this it's important   
> Okay so first off this isn't posted in order. It's a collection of snippets from my tumblr, @aceofstars144. So you're going to need some details. This is an au where Anakin gets sent back in time where he dies, but to like, 2 days before order 66 (I'm not 100% on the timeframe yet). That's pretty much all you need to understand this chapter. I'll eventually post this in order, but for now it's just a collection. Anyways, hope you enjoy! (:
> 
> Also btw this entire thing was written to Icarus by Bastille and Tien from the Stormlight fan soundtrack 'Kaladin'. I recommend them both

* * *

In the end, it doesn't matter that Anakin strikes towards Palpatine instead of Mace Windu. In the end, it doesn't matter that most of the 501st have been de-chipped. In the end, Anakin still finds himself in the same place as before; standing before the monster Sidious and being offered an impossible decision, that's still somehow not a choice at all. 

He drops to his knees. “I will do whatever you ask.” He stops resisting and lets the dark envelop him in its raging storm. He prays to whatever Force-Gods that might be listening that Sidious will be too caught up in his victory to notice that the man Anakin Skywalker is pretending to be is long dead; that this is merely a show to convince the Sith to let him _leave_ and save the people he had once doomed. 

“Henceforth, you shall be known as Lord………..Vader.” The old name falls from Sidious’ lips like the final word of a death sentence. The last remaining fragment of Anakin Skywalker can barely bring himself to care. He has one goal now, and if Vader will be better able to see it through than Skywalker, then so be it. 

“Thank you, my Master.” The words are both almost impossible to say, and as natural as breathing. Even more so, perhaps. Anakin is barely listening as Sidious gives him his orders. He's itching to leave, barely managing to stop his hands from twitching in anticipation. For every second that passes, Sidious’ army of slaves takes another step closer to the Jedi Temple, towards wiping the Order out. 

“Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate, show no mercy.” Oh, there was no need for Sidious to worry about that. That was _exactly_ what he would do. 

* * *

It was all Anakin could do to keep himself from sprinting out of the chancellor’s office, and once he had descended the first of many flights of stairs on his way to the hangar, he broke into a frantic run. “The temple is under attack, the Chancellor is a Sith Lord and the Masters we sent to apprehend him are dead. You're all in danger. Lock down the temple and prepare for attack.” 

“What?” The confused face of the Knight manning the temple comms stared out from Anakin's wrist projector. He would have called a Master, but he didn't know who was still in the temple. And who was still alive. 

“Just do it, everyone’s in danger, you're all going to die if you don't act now. There's an army, I don't have time to explain but just please, trust me. You have to prepare for an attack _now_ -”  
  
“Lord Vader,” Anakin slaps his hand over his comm as a clone officer intercepts him, falling into step with him as Anakin's desperate sprint slows to a steady descent. The officer’s armour is painted in familiar 501st blue but it's been so long Anakin can't even remember his name, “We are preparing to begin our attack on the Jedi temple.”

“Cancel the order.”

“We-”

“Cancel Order 66.”

Suspicion leaks through the force like cold water running down Anakin's back, “I'm afraid we can't do that, my Lord.”

Anakin doesn't hesitate to cut the man down where he stands. Oh well, it was worth a shot. He makes his way to the dock, where several battalions of clones are preparing ships that will take them to the temple. Anakin boards one of the carriers silently, head held high. 

His ship casts off, falling a little from the dock before it’s engines manage to catch it and help it float, still a little unsteady in the air. It seems so fragile, only a small pair of wings to keep him from falling into the depths below. 

Anakin sits on the roof of his small craft, surrounded on all sides by what were once his loyal men, now reduced to nothing more than puppets for his Mas- for _Sidious_. It's so familiar, the feeling of calm before a battle, nothing but the wind in his face and the warm, yellow light and the white noise of the city below. Skyscrapers, like mountains surround him, glowing with light from a thousand windows. Despite the sounds the world feels so quiet, but the Force, the very air itself, feels almost electrified in anticipation. It would be a wonderful sensation, if not for that inescapable feeling of dread. 

He stands up, looking over to the wings of the small ship that keep him, and thirty-four innocent men in the air. Even after years of flying and climbing and jumping out of speeders, the drop, almost like a tunnel formed by the skyscrapers surrounding him, still makes him feel a little sick. 

This was the kind of decision Anakin Skywalker would have found almost impossible. For Vader it isn't even a choice. Two quick swings of his saber seal the clones’ fates. 

The ship starts to fall, not immediately, but slowly, almost gracefully, as the momentum that carries it along gradually fades out. The previously silent men start to murmur as the nose points dangerously downward, and their voices rise to screams as the ship crashes into the unyielding wall of one of Coruscant’s many skyscrapers. 

Anakin jumps, sailing downwards through the air, towards another carrier with a grace that those without the Force can only dream of. Apathy recedes for a moment to allow him a small moment of grief. They were good men. 

When his feet touch down on the roof of the next ship, he doesn't hesitate. 

Fourteen ships and a Jedi knight fall before the Jedi Temple comes into view. 

* * *

Anakin lands at the gates of the temple. It feels wrong to enter the building now, having fallen so far, to enter the place of his greatest sin and call himself the hero. In a way, it feels wrong for him to be the protector and not the murderer. 

He pauses for a moment, looking back towards the oncoming ships he hadn't been able to destroy. What he’s considering now should have been impossible; he had studied the ancient Sith technique in detail, but the somewhat fragile electronics of his suit had always prevented him from using it. In this body, he could theoretically use the power without harming himself, but to succeed without any practice? 

Well, he always was a prodigy. He summons up all of his anger; his anger at Sidious for causing all of this, his anger at the world for sending him back and yet _not giving him enough time_ , his anger at _himself_ because, even with a second chance, he’s still failed in so many ways. It rises up within him, a supernova in his chest. He doesn't push it down the way he's been taught by the Jedi, doesn't take hold of it and use it as a weapon the way Vader so often did, he simply raises his hand towards the sky and lets it all out. 

It's amazing. It's exhilarating. It's _terrifying_. For a second Anakin feels like he's dying all over again, electricity coursing through his body as his failing respirator takes his final breaths. He looks up to the sky to see a fleet of ships plummeting towards the ground, their circuits overwhelmed by the power of Anakin's lightning. He almost wants to laugh, the sheer adrenaline and _power_ coursing through his veins is the best feeling he's felt in decades. With this power, he could do anything. 

Pain and death and suffering crash into him like a tidal wave in the Force. The lighting disappears. Anakin falls. The fading part of him that is still fully Anakin Skywalker wonders what he has become. 

Darth Vader rises to his feet. 

In another time, Anakin fell for one simple desire. The foundation for the sith he became was built around his desperate need to _save Padmé and his children_ , no matter what the cost. Now, as he embraces the darkness once more, he makes another bargain to the universe; the lives of Jedi order for his soul, and any hope of redemption he might have had. _He will not repeat his greatest mistakes_. And he will do anything, kill anyone, to make that happen. The galaxy might see these new choices differently, the Jedi might praise him as a hero instead of cursing his name, but to Vader, it’s exactly the same. 

He enters the temple grounds, lightsaber in hand. He feels as if the nightmares that left him sleepless for decades have become reality. Again. 

Vader had killed hundreds of clones already that day but still even more are coming. He creeps through dark, abandoned hallways, with barely a rustle of his tabards to give him away. The darkness is, of course, for the Jedi’s benefit, who can see in the Force just as clearly as with their eyes. They seem to have listened to his warnings, prepared themselves for attack and crept away to defend themselves in some corner of the temple. Perhaps they're even getting ready to evacuate. Thank the Force for that. 

He rounds a corner, to meet three clones, helmet lamps casting thin beams of light into the darkness, shaking hands gripping their blasters as hard as they can. He kills them before they can even fire a shot. It's only as they're dying that he realises their force signatures hadn't been altered by the chips. They had been his allies. He should be more careful next time. 

* * *

It’s been hours. Vader has resorted to using the force to help move his tired limbs. The exhilaration of the power he now wields, of all of the Chosen One’s strength in the Force and no injuries to weigh him down has long since worn down to that same apathy he had felt fighting for the Emperor for so many years. Block, slice, push deflect. Stay alert, stay awake, all the power in the world is no use to you if you collapse. Defend, destroy, survive. He can't tell how long he's been fighting for. He can't even make out a single death among the hundreds of echoing voices that surround him in the Force. 

His red-wait no, his saber is _blue_ \- blade swings through the bodies of his enemy after enemy and yet they never seem to stop. The fact that these people used to be his friends, even the fact that they are people isn't even something he considers. All he knows in this moment are fighting and death; the saber in his hands, the enemy in front of him and his constant efforts to simply _survive_. 

Power courses through him, lending him exhilaration and energy even as he feels like he's about to collapse. Enemy after enemy are cut down. Voices upon voices scream their dying thoughts into the Force. And yet they never stop coming. 

Vader avoids any Jedi he senses. He doesn't know how they'll react to seeing him like this. Doesn't remember how they reacted last time. Was there a last time? Is he fighting on the right side?

 _Save them_. What could very well have been Anakin Skywalker’s dying wish is the only thing that keeps Vader from slaughtering everyone he sees. 

* * *

His wrist comm beeps. “Master Skywalker?” Vader doesn't answer. “The temple has been almost completely evacuated. Where are you?”

“You survived? You're safe?” Relief and exhaustion both overwhelm Vader at once, lifting him up then dragging him down again in moments. The panic, fear, anger and adrenaline all drain away and he has to lean against a wall to keep himself upright. 

“Yes, the Jedi are safe,” the knight at the other end of the comm line, perhaps someone Anakin had once known, smiled, “If you're still in the temple, get to hangar bay 3.” The hologram flickers out. 

He’d done it. He'd actually done it. _He'd saved them_. He's vaguely aware of tears running down his cheeks and his mouth stretching upwards into a smile. The Jedi aren't completely safe from the sandstorm yet, but they're alive. Vader should really make it to that hangar bay. There's no way the Jedi won't notice his darkness, but maybe he can give them some information on what happened last time. Maybe he could still help. Or maybe he should just lie down. 

He’s aware enough to at least stumble through a closet door before he collapses and lets the heavy hands of sleep pull him down and away. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In true Star Wars fashion, it's actually a prequel. You're going to need some context for this one, since, as I said, this fic is written completely out of order. So Anakin time travelled, but to only a couple days before order 66 (he's explaining the time travel as a vision) had an argument with the council who didn't believe him (actually they kinda did long story), accidentally drew on the dark side and now he's yelling at Obi Wan on top of a building. 
> 
> Trigger warning for suicidal thoughts. Not major, but still there.

* * *

"Anakin, what you saw, that vision......It didn't happen; it wasn't real."

"Of course it was real _Kenobi_ ," Obi-Wan's heart falls apart a little more at the malice and hatred in Anakin's voice. "More real than whatever this is, more real than your pretending to care."

"Anakin, I'm not-"

"YOU LEFT ME TO BURN!" There are tears in his padawan’s eyes as he screams at him. The Force is almost tearing itself apart with Anakin's pain and anguish. "You cut me up into pieces and left me to suffer. You weren't even merciful enough to kill me."

Obi-Wan wants to deny it, to tell Anakin he would never hurt him that way, but he can't. He can sense the truth of it in the Force, he can almost taste the smoke and ash and feel the heat of flames against his skin. For a single second, he can feel some fragment of Anakin's pain, and it's all he can do not to scream. 

Before he has a chance to properly react, to even say anything, Anakin speaks again. His voice has taken on that cold High Coruscanti accent that sounds so wrong coming out of his mouth and his face has emptied itself of all emotions to form an indifferent mask even as his tears dry on his cheeks. "And you told me you loved me."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have left me to suffer."

Anakin's gone before Obi-Wan can even think to follow.

A hundred speeders race by. _Lightsabers clash as the ground erupts in flame_. Engines humm and angry horns cry out to the city around them. _Shouts are drowned out by the screeching sound of tearing metal as supports and shields fail and a building falls apart_. Bright yellow lights shine out of a thousand windows in buildings dark as the night sky _. A bright blue blade and a figure in white robes are the only things that stand out against glowing orange-red and ash grey._ The city air is cool and smells faintly of exhaust smoke. _The burning planet is hotter than any desert. The scent of burning meat fills the barely breathable air._ The wind whistles around a Jedi knight as tears fall from his eyes. _Flames eat away at a Sith Lord as he screams in pain._

* * *

Anakin's burning again. He's only been here for a couple of hours, barely long enough to realise where he was, in this strange world where Darth Vader and all his crimes haven't yet had time to set the galaxy alight. But even mostly whole and freed from the dark, he can't help but send out sparks. Anakin Skywalker could have had another life here, destroyed the man who would have chained him and lived the rest of his days in the light. He could have kept his past to himself and started over, given the Jedi enough information to save the galaxy and taken the secrets of his other life to the grave. 

But that future was burning away. His reaction to whatever had brought him back had been unavoidable, but only a small flame lies and reassurance could easily quell. Those touches of the dark side, however, and now the fact that Kenobi knew (although to what extent Anakin was unsure) were already burning away any trust the Jedi might have had in him, and with it Anakin’s hope for a different galaxy and a better life. 

Perhaps if he had more time it would be different. He could convince the council to trust him, gather enough evidence that they would have no choice but to accept his words.

He could try to kill Sidious himself, forget about any hope of being Anakin again in the name of vengeance and a better galaxy. Assuming he could actually defeat the Sith Lord. Assuming he could also deal with whatever contingencies the rather paranoid Chancellor of the Republic had in place to keep him safe. Assuming the terrified slave child and the broken, uncaring man inside him had the strength to fight. 

Is this his curse? To watch the galaxy fall to pieces, to lose everything he cares about all over again because he was too stupid to save it the first time? He deserves it. But, for once in his life, couldn't something just go right? Anakin’s trying to fix his mistakes, he’s trying to help an entire galaxy. Isn't that good? Isn't that what a Jedi is supposed to do? Or is it just too late for him? 

Maybe Darth Vader has caused too much pain. Maybe Anakin Skywalker can never do good again. Maybe he should just walk over to the edge of his balcony and…..

Beep-beep. His wrist lights up.   
  
Someone’s trying to comm him. After a moment of consideration, he shoves his emotions to the back of his mind, arranges his face into a blank mask and presses the answer button. 

It’s Kenobi. He's…..crying? Brilliant. 

“Anakin?”

“Yes?” He should have more sympathy. Anakin Skywalker would have had more sympathy. There shouldn't be a part of him happy to see the man that hadn't yet hurt him in pain. 

“Anakin, I-I don't know exactly……..what I saw. I don't understand... -I can't imagine what could possibly happen to make me leave you there. I'd never hurt you like that!” 

“But some version of me did. I don't know why, or how I could ever do such a thing, but….. I'm sorry. I'm not exactly the person that hurt you but I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me. If it means anything to you, I'd never leave you like that again.”

“You shouldn't say that. I deserved it.” Anakin's response surprises himself. Just moments ago he'd been so angry; he'd hated Kenobi for years and yet, seeing him here like this, _apologising_ for something he hadn't even done, something Vader had well and truly deserved, just made him feel empty. Obi-Wan shouldn't be apologising. The hatred that had fuelled Vader to scour the galaxy for his old friend, beyond forgiveness or reason, drove him to kill the man he considered closer than family, was all to cover up a single, terrible truth. Obi Wan had been right to leave him to burn. 

“Anakin, you could never deserve something like that.” Oh, how he wishes that were true. 

“You don't know what happened, Obi-Wan.” If he did he wouldn't be talking to Anakin. He'd already have his lightsaber through Vader's heart. 

“I don't need to know what happened. No one could possibly deserve something like that.” Of course he'd say that. Of course Obi-Wan could never imagine his padawan falling so far. And yet Anakin, not even Vader, Anakin, had broken his heart into pieces. Obi-Wan could never understand who Anakin had become without seeing it with his own eyes. He never will. 

Silence. Quiet tears on both ends of the call. Anakin reaches to end the connection but stops, “Is there anything else you want to say?” He might as well give his friend a chance. One last time. 

“I believe you.”

“What?” 

“Your vision. I believe what you saw was true. I'm sorry for not trusting you from the start.” Anakin had almost forgotten about that, “I want to help, if you'll let me. Do you have a plan?”

Hope. A feeling Vader had been without for almost two decades, reignited by a son even Anakin could never deserve. Carried with him through time, only to be extinguished when the Jedi seemed too blind to be saved. Spluttering back to life with Anakin’s trust in his old friend. 

“I have a couple of ideas. I can meet you in my old- my room in the temple?”

“I'll see you there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If you're confused about anything or have questions feel free to ask me in the comments or on tumblr @aceofstars144.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to check me out on tumblr (@aceofstars144) and/or send asks/prompts for this au. Or don't. I don't mind. (:


End file.
